njdaewoo
10+ Year Contributor
- 167
- 1
- Oct 19, 2009
-
Piscataway,
New_Jersey
Hello all,
To most people having the issue of the clutch pedal falling to the floor the solution is probably replacing your master cylinder. I recently had a problem with this same issue. I read the forums and searched but I could not find a real solution to my problem. I bleed the clutch system over and over again. Nothing, and I mean nothing really fixed the problem. Doing these repetitious repairs only seemed to help for a little while but the problem was still there! So I finally stood back and evaluated the situation that was at hand. Hmph, if I press my clutch in slowly, the pedal falls to the floor. If I press the pedal really fast it seems to work sometimes but not 100%. Okay, 1+1=2, no matter how you try to solve it 2 is the sum! So if the symptoms show signs having air inside, but you know for a fact that you had your wife, daughter, sons and even the dog step on that clutch pedal while you had that wrench down below cracking open the slave cylinder over and over again. The problem you are having cant be what you are doing to try to remove the air out of the system! Now the light bulb should go on in your head and say wait a minute. When I press the pedal down and the fluid in this small hydraulic system does not go where it needs to it must be the master cylinder loosing pressure!
Most people when purchasing a new master cylinder (or rebuilt unit) either just install it or they bench bleed the unit.. There is a 50% chance when everything is installed the unit will not work right. You may have the same issue as before and that causes you to start buying stainless lines and extension rods on the slave cylinder . Our problem is the Master Cylinder and the failure of the master holding pressure when the clutch pedal is applied which has to do with the inner workings of the unit itself. Whenever you replace the master cylinder never press the adjustable rod all the way into the unit. Some units have a rough internal bore that's not honed smooth as deep as it should be. When ever you press the rod assembly completely into the bore on some of these units you will hit the rough area sooner which is why you have that 50% ratio of getting the job done right on the first attempt. Those "stops" on the clutch pedal brackets controls the operating distance of the rod so please make sure you never press the clutch rod all the way into the unit!
I installed my unit by attaching the reservoir to the replacement master and slowly pressing the rod in and out only about half way. I then put my finger (with a rubber glove) over the hole that the steel clutch line threads into. I did this so the small internal valve has something to "press" against. I'm still only using small strokes to get the pressure valve inside the master to start working. After a while you will feel the pressure on your finger and that's when you stop. You are to install the unit into the car and adjust the rod so it allows the clevis pin to slide into the clutch arm with no effort. Do not allow the clutch arm to fall to the floor at this point! Have a helper hold the clutch pedal in his/her hand and slowly press the pedal in only halfway WHILE you put your finger over the hole to check for pressure. Have the person pressing the clutch pedal with their hand to slowly pull the pedal back up after each half stroke. When you have pressure at your finger tip, connect the steel line to the master cylinder. Now its time to bleed the entire unit. Go down to the slave cylinder and have the person give the pesal a half stroke and hold it steady. You are to crack the line open and quickly close it! continue doing this until you get that fluid moving (make sure you keep fluid in the reservoir!) After the fluid is moving have your helper press the pedal very slowly to the floor and hold it there. You are to crack the slave cylinder open and quickly close it. Have the helper slowly pull the pedal back up a few times and this should take care of the pedal falling to the floor!
I hope this helps someone out.
P.S.
This link will explain how our clutch system works..
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/drivetrain-tech/366222-totally-understanding-our-clutch-system.html
To most people having the issue of the clutch pedal falling to the floor the solution is probably replacing your master cylinder. I recently had a problem with this same issue. I read the forums and searched but I could not find a real solution to my problem. I bleed the clutch system over and over again. Nothing, and I mean nothing really fixed the problem. Doing these repetitious repairs only seemed to help for a little while but the problem was still there! So I finally stood back and evaluated the situation that was at hand. Hmph, if I press my clutch in slowly, the pedal falls to the floor. If I press the pedal really fast it seems to work sometimes but not 100%. Okay, 1+1=2, no matter how you try to solve it 2 is the sum! So if the symptoms show signs having air inside, but you know for a fact that you had your wife, daughter, sons and even the dog step on that clutch pedal while you had that wrench down below cracking open the slave cylinder over and over again. The problem you are having cant be what you are doing to try to remove the air out of the system! Now the light bulb should go on in your head and say wait a minute. When I press the pedal down and the fluid in this small hydraulic system does not go where it needs to it must be the master cylinder loosing pressure!
Most people when purchasing a new master cylinder (or rebuilt unit) either just install it or they bench bleed the unit.. There is a 50% chance when everything is installed the unit will not work right. You may have the same issue as before and that causes you to start buying stainless lines and extension rods on the slave cylinder . Our problem is the Master Cylinder and the failure of the master holding pressure when the clutch pedal is applied which has to do with the inner workings of the unit itself. Whenever you replace the master cylinder never press the adjustable rod all the way into the unit. Some units have a rough internal bore that's not honed smooth as deep as it should be. When ever you press the rod assembly completely into the bore on some of these units you will hit the rough area sooner which is why you have that 50% ratio of getting the job done right on the first attempt. Those "stops" on the clutch pedal brackets controls the operating distance of the rod so please make sure you never press the clutch rod all the way into the unit!
I installed my unit by attaching the reservoir to the replacement master and slowly pressing the rod in and out only about half way. I then put my finger (with a rubber glove) over the hole that the steel clutch line threads into. I did this so the small internal valve has something to "press" against. I'm still only using small strokes to get the pressure valve inside the master to start working. After a while you will feel the pressure on your finger and that's when you stop. You are to install the unit into the car and adjust the rod so it allows the clevis pin to slide into the clutch arm with no effort. Do not allow the clutch arm to fall to the floor at this point! Have a helper hold the clutch pedal in his/her hand and slowly press the pedal in only halfway WHILE you put your finger over the hole to check for pressure. Have the person pressing the clutch pedal with their hand to slowly pull the pedal back up after each half stroke. When you have pressure at your finger tip, connect the steel line to the master cylinder. Now its time to bleed the entire unit. Go down to the slave cylinder and have the person give the pesal a half stroke and hold it steady. You are to crack the line open and quickly close it! continue doing this until you get that fluid moving (make sure you keep fluid in the reservoir!) After the fluid is moving have your helper press the pedal very slowly to the floor and hold it there. You are to crack the slave cylinder open and quickly close it. Have the helper slowly pull the pedal back up a few times and this should take care of the pedal falling to the floor!
I hope this helps someone out.
P.S.
This link will explain how our clutch system works..
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/drivetrain-tech/366222-totally-understanding-our-clutch-system.html